PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Thomson, James A.
AU  - Itskovitz-Eldor, Joseph
AU  - Shapiro, Sander S.
AU  - Waknitz, Michelle A.
AU  - Swiergiel, Jennifer J.
AU  - Marshall, Vivienne S.
AU  - Jones, Jeffrey M.
TI  - Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts
AID  - 10.1126/science.282.5391.1145
DP  - 1998 Nov 06
TA  - Science
PG  - 1145--1147
VI  - 282
IP  - 5391
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/282/5391/1145.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/282/5391/1145.full
SO  - Science1998 Nov 06; 282
AB  - Human blastocyst-derived, pluripotent cell lines are described that have normal karyotypes, express high levels of telomerase activity, and express cell surface markers that characterize primate embryonic stem cells but do not characterize other early lineages. After undifferentiated proliferation in vitro for 4 to 5 months, these cells still maintained the developmental potential to form trophoblast and derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers, including gut epithelium (endoderm); cartilage, bone, smooth muscle, and striated muscle (mesoderm); and neural epithelium, embryonic ganglia, and stratified squamous epithelium (ectoderm). These cell lines should be useful in human developmental biology, drug discovery, and transplantation medicine.